A/N: The holidays are a ridiculously busy time for me! Since mid November I have just been swamped. I'm already working on another chapter and hope to get it up by the end of the year though. It'll focus on Lily's holidays at home with her family and I plan to bring in some cousins we haven't seen much of for some fun. Let me know if there's anyone in particular you'd like to see more of! As always, please review, let me know how you're liking (or not liking) this story! Thanks bunches XX

Chapter Eight: December

After the duel on Wednesday evening, Lily couldn't help but feel that her brother and cousin were avoiding her. She barely even saw them at dinner. On Friday morning she spotted Albus and Rose sitting together at breakfast, but when she started towards the Gryffindor table they both suddenly stood and left the Great Hall, waving at her briefly but claiming they were late for a class. She likewise had not seen too much of Scorpius, apart from mealtimes, but then he was usually surrounded by his usual herd of third years, and Lily didn't feel inclined to approach him. She hadn't seen him in the common room in the evenings as usual, and during their practice Thursday afternoon, he had been kept busy practicing shots with the chasers, and she didn't have a chance to talk with him.

By Saturday morning, Lily was feeling frustrated. She didn't like being confused or ignored.

"Jules, I need answers," Lily said, commanding her roommate's attention as the girls sat together at breakfast.

Julianne paused with a piece of toast with strawberry marmalade halfway to her mouth. Her light hazel eyes blinked at Lily with curious confusion.

Lily didn't wait for her friend to respond, however, before continuing. "Al and Rosie have been avoiding me," she said. "And I've barely seen Scorpius this week."

Julianne glanced towards the opposite end of the Slytherin table where Scorpius was currently sitting with Delia Thorne on one side and Leo on the other.

"Alone," Lily qualified. "I can't talk to him when he's got all those people about him."

"What about at practice later?" Julianne asked.

"I've tried at practice, but Payne's kept us all so busy lately, there's no time," Lily said.

"Then catch him after," Julianne said. "Make him talk to you."

Lily frowned. She knew if she really wanted to, she could force Scorpius to talk to her, but she also realized the reason she hadn't pushed it was that she really wanted to get answers from her brother first.

"Yeah, you're right," Lily said. "I'll try."

"Or…" Julianne said, sensing that wasn't the solution her friend wanted. "You could try and corner your brother again." She pointed towards the Gryffindors and Lily spotted Albus walking away from the table with Rose and a tall thin girl with light brown hair tied back in a braid.

Lily narrowed her eyes and stood abruptly from the stable. "I'll see you later, Jules."

Julianne nodded supportively and waved as Lily strode away from the Slytherins and hurried over to her brother before he left the Great Hall.

"Al, Rosie, wait up!" Lily called out as she neared. They had just passed through the archway leading out into the hall, but both glanced over their shoulders when she called.

"Not now, Lil, we've got to get to…" Albus tried to wave her off, but she reached them and grabbed hold of his arm.

"Yes, now," Lily said. "You've been avoiding me all week."

"I haven't," he said.

Lily narrowed her eyes at him and he looked down at his feet. Lily tried to look at Rose, but she was likewise looking anywhere but at Lily.

The other girl glanced around the family and seemed to sense the tension. She stuck out her hand suddenly towards Lily with a friendly smile. "I'm Olivia," she said.

Lily was momentarily surprised by the girls friendly introduction, but forced a smile and shook her hand. "Hi, yeah, you're on the team, aren't you?"

Olivia nodded. "I'm a beater," she said.

"Cool, nice to meet you," Lily said. She looked back at her brother who had started backing up slowly as though he would leave. "I'm not done with you, yet!" She said, and once again reached out to grab his arm.

"Fine," he said. "They've got practice though and I'm meeting Lysander at the pitch for a study session."

"I'll walk you down," Lily said.

Albus nodded curtly and the four began the walk to the pitch.

"So, talk," Lily said.

"What exactly do you want to talk about, Lily?" Rose asked.

"I want to know what was going on the other night during dueling club," Lily said.

"You mean the club you snuck into?" Rose accused.

Lily shrugged. "How I got there is not important," she said. "What I want to know is what in Merlin's name was going on between you and Malfoy!"

"It's none of your business," Albus said.

Lily scowled.

"He's right, Lil, it's sort of…" Rose hesitated and glanced at Albus. "It's a Gryffindor matter."

"A Gryffindor matter?" Lily repeated. Her mouth gaped open slightly and her eyebrows lifted in surprise.

"Lil, it's nothing personal," Albus said, clearly trying to appease her growing irritation. "You just don't need to know everything that happens if it doesn't really concern you directly…"

Lily rolled her eyes. "You used to tell me everything," she said. "You said I was the only person you could trust."

"That was when we were kids," Albus said. "Things were different then…before…" he hesitated.

"Before?" She asked. Then she pursed her lips and nodded, understanding his unspoken words. "Before I was a Slytherin."

They had reached the pitch and Lily realized she wasn't going to get anything more out of her brother or cousin. She felt upset, disappointed, sad, and most of all completely resentful at their inability to see past her identity as a Slytherin once again.

"Fine," she said. "Just fine." She placed her hands firmly on her hips and stared hard at both Albus and Rose, trying one last time to get them to give in and tell her the truth. When they both remained silent, she turned and marched grumpily back up to the castle.

Lily's bad mood lasted throughout the morning as she revised in the library with Leona and Julianne, throughout lunch as she half-heartedly dunked bread into her pumpkin soup, and by the time she arrived at practice later that afternoon she had worked herself into such an aggressive funk, she snapped at Kale for telling her that her boots were untied and rolled her eyes at almost every order Payne dished out.

Finally someone noticed.

"Potter, what's got your knickers in a twist?" Scorpius asked, flying close to Lily as she hovered above the chasers as they practiced below.

Lily scowled at him instantly.

He held up his hands in surrender, clenching his legs tightly around the broom to keep himself steady. "Fine, don't tell me, but I guarantee you Payne's not going to put up with your eye rolling much longer," he said.

"Why were you fighting with my brother?" She asked abruptly; she didn't realize she was going to ask him until the words had tumbled from her mouth.

Scorpius hesitated. "It was dueling club…that's what we're supposed to do…"

Lily glared.

"You should ask your brother," he said.

"I did," she said.

"And what did he say?" Scorpius asked.

Lily glared again and pursed her lips tightly together.

"Did he not answer you?" He asked.

Lily sighed and rolled her eyes. "He said it was a Gryffindor matter and didn't concern me."

Scorpius didn't even try to stop his guffaw and followed it up with an eye roll and a sigh. "That prat," he said.

"He is my brother, you know," she said.

"Yes, and as your brother he should tell you the truth," Scorpius said.

Lily didn't feel able to argue with that point so she stayed silent for a moment before speaking again. "Then will you tell me?" She asked, challenging him with a sharp glance and a quirk of her eyebrows.

"I really shouldn't," he said. "If your brother doesn't want you knowing then I shouldn't get in the middle of a family matter…"

"Scorpius, does it involve me?" Lily asked, picking up more in his tone than he had likely meant her to.

He hesitated.

"Tell me," she said.

"Look, it's no big deal, I think things just got misunderstood and…"

"Tell me," she said again, more firmly.

"The guys and I were talking about you a couple weeks back in our Magical Creatures class we have with the Gryffindors…" he said, starting slowly.

"You were talking about me?" She asked. "With who?"

"Just the guys," he said. "You know Leo and Geoff and Stephen…" Lily frowned for a minute trying to recognize that one. Scorpius seemed able to read her thoughts. "Stephen Locke," he said. "My roommate…"

Lily nodded. "Right, yeah, I know him…" She said, though she really didn't other than by recognition. "What were you saying about me?"

"Nothing bad," he said quickly. "We were just talking about you being in Slytherin and on the team and all that…"

"And?"

"Well, your brother got upset and said that you would never be a real Slytherin…" Scorpius said.

Lily let out a little hiss, but didn't interrupt as Scorpius kept talking.

"And I told him that I was glad you were a Slytherin because you're better off than being in Gryffindor with your family and all their negative influences in your life…" he said.

Lily's eyes narrowed at this, and still he continued.

"Anyway after that things got a little heated…Weasley called me some nasty names, I called her even nastier ones and might have said some pretty rotten things about Gryffindors in general…" He said.

"Like what exactly?" She asked.

He shrugged. "Just some things…"

"Scorpius, be specific."

He sighed. "Alright fine. I told them that all Gryffindors are spoiled pompous arses who are only living off the fame of the house and its members from the past and they're not good for anything of their own. And I told your brother he was spineless for letting you suffer the silent treatment all last year."

Lily gasped. "You didn't!"

"I did," he said. "And I don't regret a bit of it."

"Scorpius…" She moaned. "That's none of your business…I mean what gives you the right…how dare you…" With every moment she felt herself growing angrier and equally embarrassed. "My family is my business! Not yours!"

"Lily, I know, I didn't mean to upset you…" Scorpius said. If Lily had been calmer she might have realized how shocked he seemed by her sudden outburst. His gray eyes paled, and his forehead creased. "I just felt annoyed by the way they're always putting down Slytherin and giving you a hard time for it…"

"It doesn't concern you!" She nearly shouted at him.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I wasn't trying to interfere, I just wanted to…I don't know…I thought I should say something…I mean someone should say something…"

A small part of Lily deep down felt that she understood what he was trying to say and why he had done what he did, but the Weasley stubbornness had taken hold, and it wasn't about to let go now. So instead of responding to Scorpius' desperate stuttering, she scowled once more, tightened her grip on her broom, and flew away from him to the opposite side of the pitch. He didn't follow her.

…

Another twenty-four hours passed before Lily spoke to either Scorpius or any of her family, apart from Louis and Hugo who spent almost all of Sunday with Lily, Julianne, and Leona. Her anger with Albus and Rose hadn't faded and her frustration with Scorpius had only turned into more confusion and bitterness. She was tired of people treating her like a fragile little child, trying to make decisions for her or fight her battles for her. She didn't care that her brother didn't think she belonged in Slytherin or that Scorpius thought she did. She didn't want their opinions, and she certainly didn't want them fighting about it without her knowledge.

She had told Julianne the whole story at dinner after practice. Though Julianne had told Lily that she thought it was sweet how much everyone seemed to care about her, she agreed that they had overstepped the boundaries significantly and shouldn't have lied to her about it. Julianne did encourage Lily to talk to her brother, however, and try to set things straight sooner than later. Lily hadn't agreed.

By Tuesday morning, Lily was feeling more disgruntled than ever. Scorpius had tried to talk to her the previous night in the common room, but she had run off to finish her homework in her room, refusing to even acknowledge him. She hadn't finished all her work, nor had she slept soundly that night. Her frustrations and confusion had started consuming her completely.

At breakfast, Lily barely ate. Julianne watched her silently, clearly full of opinions, but knowing better than to express them at this point.

Finally she couldn't keep quiet any longer. "Maybe you should talk to Professor Willoughby?" Julianne suggested.

"About what?" Lily asked.

"Everything. All this mess with your family…" she said.

Lily frowned. "This is personal. Why would I talk to him about it?"

"I don't know, you two are close," Julianne said. "You've often said how helpful your talks are. You'll see him tomorrow for your potions. I'm sure if you explained everything that's been going on, he'd have some advice."

"I don't need advice, Jules," Lily said. "I need people to leave my personal business alone."

"Is that supposed to include me?" Julianne said. She lifted one ashy blonde eyebrow and shook her head. "Too bad. Best friends are supposed to be in your business."

Lily laughed, despite her bad mood.

As the day continued, Lily found her bad mood easing. Julianne's consistent chatter about the upcoming Christmas holidays helped quite a bit. Lily found it impossible to be upset when thinking about Christmas, even if it did mean two solid weeks at home with her brothers.

By Wednesday evening, after a brief run-in with James at dinner who asked her why she and Al weren't speaking, Lily went to her potions lesson with a heavy heart and preoccupied mind. Her professor noticed immediately.

"Would you like to talk about it?" He asked almost the moment she entered his office and sat down in the usual chair.

She hesitated and considered playing dumb, but she had learned in a short time that he could see through all her moods. "It's been a long week," she said.

"Oh?" He said, not asking anything more, but leaving the silence after his comment heavy and curious. He reached for the tea tray that sat at the end of his desk as it did each week and poured her tea. He added the cinnamon as he had learned to do for her and then handed her the cup.

After a brief thanks, she let out a sigh and decided that a quick synopsis couldn't hurt.

"Everyone thinks they know what's best for me…" she started slowly. "My brothers and cousins still haven't fully accepted me as a Slytherin and think I would have been better off as a Gryffindor. And Scorpius…" she faltered. "My housemates…" she corrected herself, "are so certain that I was meant to be a Slytherin…"

"We've had this conversation before," he said. "The only thing that matters is where you see yourself belonging."

"I know," she said. "It's more than that this time though. My brother got in a fight about it and it made me so angry. He had no right to fight over my personal business!"

"He cares about you," Professor Willoughby said.

"I know that," she said. "And I love my brother, but it's still not his right."

"Did you tell him that you felt that way?" He asked.

"I haven't really had the chance," she said. "He wouldn't even be honest with me about it all. When I asked, he told me it was a Gryffindor matter like it didn't even concern me!"

"So are you upset because he thinks you should be a Gryffindor or because he doesn't consider you one?" Willoughby asked.

Lily didn't particularly like the question. It was confusing and made her think too much about why exactly she was frustrated. When Lily felt truly frustrated or angry, she didn't like having to justify every particular reason for her anger. She just liked to be allowed to be angry.

"Lily, this has become a rather frequent conversation between us," Willoughby said. "I know you say you have fully accepted yourself as a Slytherin, but I'm not sure you have. There is still a part of you that obviously holds on to your family's strong Gryffindor ties. Your jealousy and disappointment are obvious."

"I don't…" she started, but he held up a hand.

"I know you say that you have accepted yourself as a Slytherin, but there have been many instances in which your obvious envy of your siblings and cousins shows itself and your confidence in yourself as a Slytherin falters," he said.

Lily lowered her eyes to her tea and didn't answer.

"For tonight's lesson, we are going to work on a very advanced potion, something that I wouldn't typically teach until sixth year," he said.

Lily was relieved he had abruptly changed the subject and and excited for the new challenge.

"Veritaserum," he said.

"The truth potion?" Lily asked. "Isn't that very complicated? And powerful?"

"It is," he said.

"Why do you want me to work on something that advanced?" She asked.

"Because I think it could benefit you," he said. "Here's what we are going to do…" He took a sip of his tea before explaining. "You have only two more weeks until Christmas Holidays. For tonight we are going to discuss the details of the potion, how to make it, how to use it, potential ways to botch it up, and all that sort of thing. Next week, we will brew the potion. I will have you take the lead on it, so please be doing extra research this week on your own. And then it will take a full lunar cycle before it'll be ready to use, so when you return from break, I will have you take the potion here, with me, in the safety of my offie. I will ask you a couple questions regarding your true feelings of being placed in Slytherin."

"You're going to ask me things while under the influence of veritaserum?" Lily asked. She was not keen on that idea.

"You have my words that I will not take advantage of the moment. I will only ask you questions regarding Slytherin specifically. After the year you have had and the feelings of doubt you continually express, I think it may be helpful for you to understand your true feelings," he said.

She considered it for a moment and then finally nodded. "I suppose that would be alright."

"Perfect, then let's get started. It's a complex potion!" He said, and jumped directly into a lecture on the details of each ingredient involved in the truth potion.

…

The Gryffindors were playing Ravenclaw on the final Saturday before holiday, and the whole school seemed excited for the match. Lily wasn't sure if students were actually that excited about the game or the fact that it only brought them that much closer to Christmas break, but the energy as they entered the Great Hall for breakfast was catching.

Only a moment after Lily and Julianne sat together towards the end of the Slytherin table, they were joined by Kenny and Kale.

"What are you wearing?" Kenny asked Lily directly.

Lily continued calmly filling her plate with the delicious Saturday morning array of food as she answered. "Clothes," she said without expression.

"They're Gryffindor colors!" Kenny said.

"So?" Lily said. "There's a game today."

"But, we're Slytherins…" Kenny said. Her brown eyes were wide and blank.

"Yes we are…" Lily said. She took a bite of her fried egg.

Kenny looked at Kale who shrugged and then returned her blank stare to Lily. Before she had a chance to say anything else, someone else decided to share their opinion.

"Oy, Potter, what the bloody hell kinda game are you playing?" Payne demanded as he stepped up behind Lily.

She sighed and set down her fork to look up at him. "I'm trying to eat breakfast," she said in what she hoped was a calm tone though she was quickly losing her calm.

"I'm talking about what you're wearing!" He said.

Payne's loud accusatory tone had gained a small crowd of curious onlookers from the Slytherin and nearby Ravenclaw table. Lily tried not to feel embarrassed. Leo and Geoff walked over and flanked Payne on either side. Both had their arms crossed in front of their broad chests and both scowled down at Lily.

"What I'm wearing hardly concerns you," Lily said.

"You're a Slytherin," he said. "You're the Slytherin seeker. You cannot wear that!"

Lily poured herself a cup of tea and Julianne passed her a cinnamon stick. Lily found herself feeling quite proud of her friend for likewise keeping her calm. It was a trait she had noticed Julianne working on that semester—staying calm and disconnected from situations that would usually cause her more evident anxiety. She had confided in Lily a couple weeks back that she was going to copy her friend's ability to pretend that things didn't rile her even when they did and this morning was quite the test. So far she hadn't even glanced up at Payne and had managed to continue eating her breakfast without any apparent disruption, which was not entirely typical Julianne behavior.

"I'm perfectly aware of my position on the team," Lily said. "As far as I'm aware, there are no rules prohibiting me from wearing colors for a different team on a game day when I am not playing. Are there?"

Payne narrowed his eyes at her. "It's completely absurd." He glanced over her head briefly. "Malfoy, back me up here." He beckoned to the newcomer and Scorpius soon appeared behind Lily.

He stared down at her and she could tell he was taking in her appearance by the way his eyes roamed over her in a brief but hurried manner. Finally he cleared his throat and looked to Payne. "What seems to be the problem?"

"Are you blind? Look at what she's wearing!" Payne said. His voice had not quieted at all and more people were staring now.

Despite her best efforts, Lily was beginning to feel the familiar flush of embarrassment creep into her pale cheeks.

"We're not playing today," Scorpius said. "We're allowed to show our support for other teams." He nodded briefly at Lily before walking away down the table and taking a seat by Delia and a few other third year girls.

Payne seemed irritated by Scorpius' departure and lack of support. He scowled one more time at Lily before retreating as well and finding another place to sit for his breakfast. Geoff and Leo joined Scorpius.

"That was quite bold," Julianne whispered to Lily once everyone had left and Kenny had become engrossed in a conversation with Kale about which team was going to win.

"Thank you," Lily said. "I wasn't exactly trying to be bold though."

"Oh really?" Julianne said. "Could have fooled me." She eyed Lily's outfit intentionally and Lily laughed.

"Okay, maybe I was," she said. "But honestly it isn't anyone's business but my own what I choose to wear or which team I choose to support on game day."

"You could have just stayed neutral and not worn any colors," Julianne said.

"No I couldn't have," Lily said. "This is an important game and there's absolutely no reason not to wear colors and support one of the teams."

Julianne nodded, silently supporting her friend's decision, even if she did seem somewhat unconvinced of the logic behind it.

Lily finished her breakfast in silence, trying to seem unconcerned about the confrontation with Payne and the team, but she knew that the decision to wear Gryffindor colors to the game that day had been a gigantic statement and had also taken quite a bit of bravery and strength for her to go through with it. She had thought about it frequently throughout the week leading up to the game and considered her options carefully. For a while she had planned to go neutral, like Julianne, and not pick colors. At breakfast on Tuesday, Lorcan had suggested she wear Ravenclaw colors to support his team and she almost agreed, but then after dinner that night James had confronted her and said he had heard she was wearing Ravenclaw colors and he wanted to know why. She hadn't been able to give him a decent answer. She had made attempts over the past couple weeks to repair the rift between herself and Albus and Rose, and with so many of her family members on the Gryffindor team, she had no reason not to support her family's team, even if they hadn't thought to do the same when she played her first game that year.

And so that morning after showering, Lily had rummaged through her trunk for her favorite comfort shirt she had taken from home, one of her dad's old practice jerseys from his school days. She had found it when she was eight and her mum had tried to throw it out in one of her sudden deep cleans of the home, but Lily had hidden it away in her room and she had worn it frequently throughout childhood when her dad was out on a late assignment or gone for a couple days on a particularly dangerous mission. It had become old and tattered with frequent wear, but Lily noticed that when she had packed it last year in her school trunk it had been magically mended and restored to practically new. She never said anything, but she knew her mum had fixed it for her. Lily never wore it at school, since she hadn't become a Gryffindor, she didn't feel that wearing it was appropriate, even at bed time, but that day had felt like the perfect time to pull it out of its hiding spot at the bottom of her trunk.

Since she had committed to the idea of supporting her brothers, Lily decided she might as well go all the way. She wore black pants with her dad's Gryffindor red jersey over a long sleeve golden shirt for extra warmth; it was big on her, so she had it tied up around her waistline. Then, having planned ahead, Lily had borrowed a thick hand knitted red and gold scarf that Grandma Molly had given Rose the previous year for her birthday. She had Julianne, with her artistic skills, paint a golden lion on her cheek. And then with one final act of shock and defiance, Lily had tied up her long thick hair into a ponytail high on her head with a gold ribbon, revealing the gold "POTTER" name on the back of the jersey.

Though Julianne assured her that she looked fantastic, Lily also knew she would get plenty of stares and some judgment from her Slytherin mates. So she wasn't at all surprised by the barrage at breakfast that morning.

After breakfast, Julianne and Lily walked to the pitch with Leona who was dressed to support her own house and brother. Louis and Hugo found the girls as they approached and led them up to the seats where they were sitting with their Gryffindor housemates. Julianne seemed to briefly resist the seating choice, but Lily held her hand tightly and pulled her along.

The game was fast paced and thrilling. Ravenclaw had a strong team with excellent flyers and maneuvers, but Gryffindor was ambitious and not fond of losing. Leona cheered enthusiastically for her brother and the Gryffindors alike. Julianne spent the majority of the game discussing charms with Hugo who was thrilled to find someone else who shared his lack of interest for Quidditch and joy over lessons. Louis and Daniel Thomas acquired hot cocoa for everyone to stay warm. Lily alone seemed to truly be enjoying the thrills of the game. She frequently jumped from her seat for a better view of the action on the pitch and cheered passionately when James blocked a shot or when Rose, Dominique, or Roxie made a goal. It lasted nearly two hours, with Gryffindor ultimately winning by a twenty point margin. It had been a good game, and Lily felt herself exhilarated from the excitement once it was over.

"Wasn't that a brilliant game?" She said to the group as they descended from their height and began the walk back up towards the castle.

"Yeah, it was great," Julianne tried to contribute, though Lily knew she'd hardly known what was going on throughout. She turned back to Hugo to continue their conversation about the holidays.

Daniel stepped up to walk with Lily and tried to share her enthusiasm for the game. "Glad we won!" He said eagerly.

Lily nodded. "James will be delighted. He played hard."

"We'll have a wicked celebration in the common rooms today!" Daniel said, and then he seemed to remember himself "Well, I wish you could join us."

Lily felt the familiar brief sadness of not being able to join in her family's quidditch victories, but she forced herself to smile. "Enjoy!"

"Hey, Lily! What happened to supporting me?" Lorcan caught up with the group, followed by a few of his third year friends.

"Sorry Lor," Lily said with a smile. "Family first."

He pretended to be shocked. "Are you telling me we're not family?"

Lily laughed and gave him a hug. "You played a great game."

"Yeah, well maybe if you'd been wearing my colors we would have won," he said and winked at her before waving to his sister and joining his friends as they continued up to the castle.

They were stopped again before they had a chance to continue walking, this time by Lily's family. James led the group towards Lily and her friends, grinning broadly.

"Hi!" Lily waved to her family.

Rose broke away from the group at a quick speed and greeted Lily with a hug. "Thanks for supporting us!" She said.

Lily squeezed her cousin tightly for a moment before breaking the hug and turning to accept another from Roxie and Dominque together. They weren't usually huggers, but Lily could tell they were in exceptionally good moods from the victory, and their enthusiasm seemed to be bubbling over. When they pulled back, James swooped in and lifted Lily easily in his strong arms.

"Eew, James you're all sweaty!" She swatted at her brother's arms, wrinkling her nose at the slight stench emanating from his body. "Why didn't you shower after the game?"

"I like to bask in the glow of it all," he said, finally returning her to the ground.

"The glow?" Lily asked. She shook her head. "That's disgusting."

The others surrounding them laughed as James shrugged, clearly unconcerned about his body odor or sweaty appearance.

"You played a great game," Lily said. Louis and the others offered their congratulations as well.

"I know. That was a good one!" James said. "Ravenclaw's tough." He seemed to consider his words briefly then looked meaningfully at his sister. "Not quite as tough as Slytherin though. Your team is going to be hard to beat."

Lily realized he was offering her a compliment and she smiled. "Don't worry, we'll take it easy on you."

He laughed. "I plan to win the cup this year," he said.

She shrugged. "Good luck!"

He laughed again and gave her another hug. "You look good in red and gold, Lils." He said and then he sighed a little Lily felt her enthusiasm start to fade, feeling that she knew exactly what he was thinking.

"Well, enjoy your victory party," Lily said, ending the conversation abruptly.

James nodded and led his group away. Dominique motioned to her brother and Louis offered Lily a quick wave before joining the other Gryffindors along with Hugo and Daniel, leaving Julianne, Leona, and Lily alone.

Lily sighed. She glanced down at her Gryffindor jersey, fingering the deep crimson material and feeling slightly sad.

"What should we do with the rest of our day?" Leona asked, seeming to sense the change in her friend's mood. "Want to go skip rocks at the lake?"

"Or we could go practice with some of that new makeup Victoire sent you," Julianne suggested, glancing at her friend.

Lily nodded, hardly hearing what her friends were saying.

"Lily?"

"Hmm?" Lily turned to the girls who were both smiling at her patiently.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I got lost in thought. I'm good with whatever you guys want to do," she said.

"Are you hungry? Lunch is probably set out by now," Leona said.

Lily nodded. "Sure, let's get some food."

The girls headed into the castle and towards the Great Hall. At the door, Lily paused.

"You know what, I think I'm going to change first," she said.

"Okay. How about we grab some sandwiches and chips and meet you at the Lake," Julianne suggested. Lily nodded her agreement and headed down to the Slytherin rooms.

As she headed down to the dungeons, Lily couldn't shake the overwhelming sense of sadness that had engulfed her since James' thinly veiled comment about her wearing red and gold. She knew that everyone in her family thought it. She had been meant to wear red and gold along with the rest of the Potter and Weasley line. Playing Quidditch for any other house just wasn't quite right. She hated that she let those thoughts enter her mind, when she knew she was happy playing for Slytherin. Wasn't she? Lily realized she was starting to look forward to coming back from the holidays and completing the Veritaserum assignment with Willoughby.

The common rooms were empty, and Lily felt glad that she didn't have to defend her clothing choice to anyone else that day. She hurried to her rooms and stripped off the Gryffindor attire, shoving the jersey back into her trunk, where she felt certain it would remain for the rest of the year. Moving into her closet, Lily searched through her shirts feeling a need to embrace her Slytherin identity in a way she hadn't often felt. Other than her school uniform and Quidditch robes, Lily realized her wardrobe severely lacked Slytherin colors. She turned to Julianne's section of the closet and was overwhelmed with options. She pulled out a soft emerald green V-neck and slipped it on quickly, then added a silver scarf and moved into the bathroom to wash the lion from her cheek. After scrubbing the gold face paint off and replacing her gold hair ribbon with a silver one, Lily stared at her reflection in the floor-length mirror. Despite her brother's words, Lily felt that she looked better in the Slytherin green. She liked the way the green compliment her red hair and brought out the color in her eyes. She smiled, feeling satisfied with her clothing change. Before leaving her room, she packed her satchel with a notebook, some quills, and the two books she had been using to research Veritaserum, planning to ask Julianne and Leona for some extra help by the lake. She glanced down at Styx who had began to wake from where he had been snoozing in her bed.

"Want to join me?" She asked. He meowed and stretched before moving towards her. She lifted him to her shoulder, glad that he had never grown much larger than an oversized kitten, as he snuggled into his favorite perch next to her ear.

Just as she was passing through the Main Hall on her way outside to join the girls, Lily ran into Scorpius, Geoff, and Leo leaving lunch.

"Oy, Potter!" Geoff waved her over.

"What's up?" She asked.

"You sure had Payne riled up this morning over your outfit choice for the game," Geoff said.

Lily shrugged. "It was my choice," she said.

"Why do you even have a Gryffindor shirt with your name on it?" Leo asked. "That put Payne in a right state. He said you were being a traitor to your team."

Lily rolled her eyes. "I was doing no such thing," she said. "I'm allowed to support my family. The jersey was my dad's when he played here."

"Your dad's?" Geoff repeated. "You mean Harry Potter."

Lily frowned at the way he exaggerated her dad's name. "Yes, that's his name," she said.

Geoff and Leo exchanged a glance that Lily couldn't quite understand, but she chose not to follow up.

"Look, if Payne's upset, he's welcome to come and talk to me himself," she said. "I've got to go. I'm meeting my friends." She walked away and Leo and Geoff turned to head the other direction.

Scorpius, however, followed her a few feet. "Hey, I think it's great you wanted to support your family," he said.

"You do?" She asked.

"Of course. It's not like we were playing today, why shouldn't you? I wish they'd be a bit more supportive of you when you play though," he said.

She was only slightly surprised he had taken notice of that fact. She shrugged.

"Just for the record though," he said, hesitating a bit.

"Yeah?" She asked.

"You look better in green," he said. "It matches you." And then he turned and followed his friends.

Lily stared after him for a moment, briefly confused by her mixed emotions. Earlier hearing James tell her she looked good in Gryffindor colors she had been frustrated and disappointed. Now hearing Scorpius tell her she belonged in Slytherin colors she felt somehow satisfied and content. Lily smiled a little as she hurried off to meet up with her friends.